Composite optimization and characterization of dietary fiber-based edible packaging film reinforced by nanocellulose from grapefruit peel pomace.

The development of edible packaging films was motivated due to resource waste and environmental damage caused by chemically produced plastic packaging. The development of edible packaging film based on grapefruit peel pomace dietary fiber has significant technological and functional potential because grapefruit processing waste is a potential source of high-quality dietary fiber. In this study, the first successful development of an edible packaging film based on dietary fiber using grapefruit soluble dietary fiber (GSDF) from grapefruit peel pomace as a substrate and nanocellulose (GNCC) as a filler was developed. Principal component analysis, membership function synthesis, and response surface methods were used to determine the optimal process to prepare the edible packaging films, and the impact of GNCC on this material was analyzed. The results showed that the overall performance score of the edible packaging film with 1 wt% GNCC was 0.764. The maximum pyrolysis temperature increased from 226.36 °C to 227.10 °C, the melting temperature (Tm) increased by 5.54 °C, the crystallinity increased by 2.95 %. The film solution exhibited non-Newtonian characteristics and a solid-like property. Our results showed that the edible packaging film developed from grapefruit peel pomace and dietary fiber could have several potential applications in the food packaging field.

Developing a cerium lactate antibacterial nucleating agent for multifunctional polylactic acid packaging film.

With the rapid development of the packaging industry, people have high requirements for the functionality of packaging materials. As a representative biodegradable packaging material, polylactic acid (PLA) still has some problems. Multifunctional additives in PLA are an effective modification method. In this paper, cerium lactate (Ce-LA) was synthesized by a precipitation method and integrated into PLA to prepare a functional PLA composite. The results showed that Ce-LA not only significantly improved the crystallinity but also imparted antibacterial ability to PLA. When the concentration of Ce-LA was 0.9 %, the crystallinity of PLA reached 39.35 %, which was 77 % higher than that of pure PLA. When the addition of Ce-LA was 1.8 %, the antibacterial rates of PLA against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli reached 93 % and 85 %, respectively. This study provides a beneficial solution for the development of PLA packaging materials with high crystallinity and antibacterial properties.

Polylactic Acid/Cerium Fluoride Films: Effects of Cerium Fluoride on Mechanical Properties, Crystallinity, Thermal Behavior, and Transparency.

PLA is widely used in the field of disposable products for its good transparency, high strength, high modulus, and good processing performance. However, the crystallization rate and crystallinity of PLA are weak. In actual production, the PLA products that are typically obtained are amorphous with poor heat resistance, which greatly limits the application range of PLA products. Finding an effective nucleating agent to improve the transparency of PLA has been a hot topic in research. This study found that Cerium fluoride (CeF3) can effectively improve the crystallinity of PLA/CeF3 (P/F) films. When the content of CeF3 in PLA was 1 wt %, the retention ratio of visible light transmittance was 82.36%, the crystallinity was 29.8%, and the tensile strength was 59.92 MPa. Compared to pure PLA, the crystallinity of P/F1 increased by 56% and tensile strength increased by 8.76%. This study provided an alternative scheme that maintained the PLA film's transparency and improved the crystallinity of PLA, which significantly expanded the application of PLA.